Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Amyotrophic meaning, “no muscle nourishment” in Greek, lateral meaning where the neurons are in the spinal cord, and sclerosis meaning “scarring.” ALS, often known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” named after the New York Yankee who first brought awareness to the disease in the late 1930’s, is a neurodegenerative disease, which affects the neurons in the brain. The nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that are responsible for sending and receiving motor signals progressively die off, causing the deterioration of simple motor skills in patients with ALS, such as walking, talking, and eventually speaking and breathing, however thinking is not affected by ALS. Early symptoms cause the person to slowly lose mobility of limbs, but in a matter of a few years, the person loses the mobility of most of their body and will eventually lose the ability to eat and breath, which will ultimately cause death. ALS deteriorates the patient's body, however does not affect the patient's state of mind or sanity while the rest of the body shuts down. People usually get ALS between the ages of 40 and 70. However, there is a growing trend where athletes are getting ALS in their thirties. ALS can be contributed to genetic predisposition, which means that the gene that is responsible for ALS is already in the person’s DNA. In recent studies, however, it was observed that individuals who have had suffered multiple concussions or any other head trauma are

ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) or Lou Gehrig’s Disease is a classified as a degenerative neurological disorder that inhibits motor neurons in the spinal cord and brain to function properly. This disease eventually results in paralysis and imminent death over a period of time. ALS patients have anywhere from a few months, to a couple years to live after diagnosis since their nervous systems are slowly destroyed, rendering the body useless, and sustaining life impossible.

Lou Gehrig’s Disease Thesis: Weakness in the hands, arms, legs or slurred speech. Imagine having these symptoms and not knowing what is wrong. Then the most dreaded words are uttered, “You have Lou Gehrig’s Disease”. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), or other wise known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, is a disease that attacks muscles and brain cells. “ALS was first found in 1869 by French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot,but it wasn’t until 1939 that Lou Gehrig brought national and international attention to the disease” (About).

The article titled “The Voices of A.L.S. by Tara Parker-Pope has given me a better insight into A.L.S. In fact, it has made me more aware of it. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, affects parts of the nervous system that control voluntary muscle movement. Motor neurons, among the largest of all nerve cells, reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to muscles throughout the body. When these motor neurons die, the brain can no longer start and control muscle movement. At this time there is no cure for the disease; however, over the past few decades, we have made amazing strides in our understanding of the brain, the nervous system, and genetics. Discoveries in each of these areas bring

ALS, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a disease that attacks the muscles and impacts a person’s physical function. Overtime, the symptoms will

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a terminal disease that degenerates the nerves in the brain and spinal cord. Motor neurons run from the brain, through the spinal cord, and into the muscles of person; this is what allows a person to have control over voluntary movement. When an individual is diagnosed with ALS, their motor neurons begin to degenerate, thus eradicating their ability to walk, eat, and eventually breathe.

ALS is more commonly known as Lou Gehrigs disease. The progressive disease poisons the nervous system by a chemical that is released after a blow to the head; this chemical is known as Tou. Tou is released into the brain after a blow, poisoning the nervous system causing body muscles to shut down.

Treatment for ALS is getting closer and closer every day. Although there isn’t a treatment yet there are treatments to slow down the process. “First, there is medicine, Rilutek, which slows the disease progression by decreasing glutamate levels. In addition there are many ongoing Clinical Trials that use agents that target possible causes of the disease. Furthermore, advances in the aggressive treatment of respiratory complications of ALS with noninvasive ventilation and respiratory management as well as aggressive nutritional intervention have provided significant improvements in the morbidity and mortality. Finally, there are symptom specific treatments and a multidisciplinary approach utilizing occupational and physical therapists, speech therapists, nutritionists, and nurse specialists that have led to improved quality of life and maximization of function in the person living with ALS. A review of disease specific treatment, clinical trials, and symptom management follows” Dedicated to the Care and Cure of People with Lou Gehrig's Disease." Treating ALS. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Nov.

ALS also known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s disease (Patents;2013). ALS got its name from the famous baseball player Lou Gehrig, a hall of fame the first baseman who played for the New York Yankees. He was diagnosed with it in 1939 and died in 1941. ALS

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a neurodegenerative autoimmune disease. This means that the neurons ( nerve cells of the brain and spinal cord), particularly the ones that control voluntary muscles (motor neurons), degenerate and die. Naturally, motor neurons in the brain send signals to the motor neurons in the spinal cord, which in turn, sends signals to the muscles. However, the degeneration and death of these neurons (upper and lower motor neurons) doesn’t allow the body to transmit signals to permit the movement of muscles. This eventually causes the weakening of the muscles, and the brain’s loss of controlling voluntary muscle movement. By this, people lose their ability to speak, walk, and breathe.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis – also referred to as Motor Neurone Disease in most Commonwealth countries, and as Lou Gehrig's disease in the United States– is a debilitating disease with varied etiology characterized by rapidly progressive weakness, muscle atrophy and fasciculations which is a spontaneous contraction affecting small number of muscle fiber. This is often referred “Lou Gehrig’s disease”. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, is a disease of the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement. Muscle cramps and muscle twitching all happens when people have ALS disease. First it damages the spinal cord pathway and through the motor neurons, bodies to move and is made up of the brain, nerve, and muscle. The things that we do every day like running all of that is controlled by the neuromuscular system. By the time that passes by the ALS disease causes these motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord to shrink and goes away, so muscle no longer receive signals to move. The result of this is that the muscle becomes smaller and weaker. About 2 out of 100,000 people will get Lou Gehrig’s disease. 5 out of 10% ALS cases in the United State are in Hereditary, means the disease runs through a certain families. At least 90% of cases are not inherited, this disease is called the Sporadic ALS disease.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig disease . Amyotrophic lateral is the neurodegenerative disease which the nerve cell (neurons)

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, is a disease where the nerve cells in the brain all together with brain stem and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle actions becomes weak progressively. The causes varies, can be from genetic defect or chemical imbalance, disorganized immune response, protein mishandling. Causes of ALS are unknown in most of the cases. In ALS, the neurons waste or die compromising the communications to the muscles. Causing a progressive inability to move getting worse by the time. Disease becomes a life threatening when reach the muscles in the chest area risking

Amyotrophic  lateral  sclerosis  (ALS)  is  a  devastating and fatal neurological disorder  that  causes  weakness,  atrophy,  paralysis,  and eventually respiratory failure due to the  selective  degeneration  of  neurons  responsible for voluntary movement. Since  its discovery in 1874, ALS has remained a  medical  mystery  ‐ researchers  remain  unable to identify any clear cause, cure, or  effective  treatment  for  the  disease.2   Throughout the history of research on the  disease, epidemiological and public health  research approaches have played a key role  in  informing  policy  and  advancing  knowledge on the disease. Epidemiological  studies  have  helped  change  early  perceptions  of  ALS  as  an  extremely  rare  disease,  and

A distinctive characteristic of ALS is that although the motor neurons die, the brain, cognitive functions and sensory neurons stay intact (Porth & Matfin, 2009). This makes the disease especially devastating because patients become trapped inside their dying body, with a fully alert mind, but are unable to move. It is not known what causes the exact death of the motor neurons in the body, but “five percent to 10% of cases are familial; the others are believed to be sporadic” (Porth & Matfin, 2009, p.